A hollow member (structural body) of a vehicle is often filled with foam to seal, dampen noise, and to impart structural strength and rigidity or acoustical properties. Typically, a structural body is filled with a foam such as polyurethane by introducing fluid reactants into a region that it is desired to reinforce (that is, a reinforcing region) and allowing the foam to react and fill the reinforcing region. Unfortunately, this method is uncontrolled and the foam inconsistently fills the cavity from one vehicle to the next. The method, in many instances, also requires the use of specialized plugs to keep the foam from escaping and clogging up functional holes such as mounting holes for other components.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,194,199, 5,866,052 and 6,062,624 disclose yet another way of reinforcing structural bodies by inserting a pre-formed cured structural foam part into the structural body However, this approach relies on the use of an expandable polyurethane or epoxy resin to adhere the structural part into place, which resin detracts from the overall structural performance of the part. Furthermore, the integrity of the structural part-structural body bond can be compromised due to the inconsistency of the bake ovens used to cure the adhesive. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a structural reinforcement to be precisely placed within a structural body that is not subject to the deficiencies of a sealant or that relies upon consistencies of bake oven temperatures.